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Today is January 25th. I'm Kelly Guo. I'm here today with Miss Lin. And on behalf of the Houston Asian American Archive at Rice University. So let's start with the very beginning of your

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story. What's your name and where and when you were born? My name is Qiqing. I was born in Guangdong province in China in 1991.

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Okay. And thank you. How would you describe the household you grew up in? My parents? I have a younger sister who's one and a

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half year younger than me. And then, my–my dad used to work in construction and my mom was a full-time housewife. When I say full-time, like, she's like,

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not just taking care of me and my sister, but also like a few cousins who stay with us when we were growing up. So she's like, very busy. Yeah. And we also live with my grandma for many years until she passed away.

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Okay. Thank you. And can you share one of the most memorable childhood memory? Childhood memory...I think I had a, like a pretty happy childhood in general.

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Like, while at home, and I, like, grew up with a lot of other kids, like cousins. For example, I remember when I was small, I lived with my uncle's family, so my dad's brother.

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And they had a daughter. So it's like me and my sister and the cousin who's like of similar age, the three of us would like, always play together. And there was a—a wooden door in

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the—in the living room that after dinner, like three of us would just use chalk to paint, like to draw on it directly. And the adults, they don't care, they would like just, you know, give us a wet cloth and then we would wipe everything.

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So we would draw butterflies and flowers, houses, like these kind of kids' stuff on this door. So we use it kind of like as a drawing board. Yeah.

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Thank you. And where do you reside now? Oh, I live in New York City now. Okay. Like, when did you move to the US, and what prompted you to do so?

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I moved in the summer of 2021. I used to work in–in Shanghai for five years. And then I moved to New York because I was going to do a master's degree in textile in the Parsons School of Design in New York.

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Does your family move with you? Or just you? Oh, no, it was just me. Yeah.

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What are some, like, challenges when you first arrived in the US? Yeah. A-at first it was pretty hard, like, because everything is very different.

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For example, I had a, like, a really hard time finding an apartment in New York City. I had no idea it was, like, so competitive. Like, you need to—it's almost like job application. You need to have, like, a cover letter to—and

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credit score, this kind of thing. And, as an international student, I had, like, no credit history. So it was–it was very difficult, like, looking for apartments.

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But I was–I was very fortunate in the end with–with help to find a place I really like. Yeah, i-in general, I would say that it's very different, like daily life.

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Like, for example, I was, like, I would be upset if the–the train wouldn't arrive on time, which is, like, very different in Shanghai. Because in Shanghai, when you're taking the subway, you just don't need to check the schedule

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because there are like one train every three minutes or something. But when I like, first came to New York, I was like, following Google. And I was like, well, why this train is not coming? So small things like that.

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Yeah. So is that like a cultural shock you experienced? A cultural shock? [KG: Yeah.] I would say, like, the maybe in–in school, like, I would feel

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it's very different that, people are in general very generous with compliments. That's a big cultural shock because I feel like in general, like maybe in China,

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people are more reserved. But when, like when we had critiques, in the master program that the faculties are very positive when giving feedback.

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Even though I feel like apparently sometimes the work is not that good. Like most of the faculties would say like nice things to you, and maybe in the end, they will say a little bit of criticism, like things that you can improve.

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But they phrase it in a very careful way, you know, as if it's not right to do so. Well, I feel like it's related to the private school? Like, education style that maybe the

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teachers who give tough feedback are not the most popular teachers, so they have their like, pressure in their evaluation system. But I feel like, just in general, like, people are, tell you very nice things.

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So, your work is amazing and–and I keep this in mind that like, yeah, don't believe in all the compliments that people give. So once you're–once you moved to US, how did you keep in touch with your family?

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Through WeChat. Yeah. We would, like, do video call once a week and sometimes I would send photos, videos in the group chats. I-I think most of the, you know, like, Chinese students would have,

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like, a group chat with the family. And like, the "happy family" titles, like something like that. So I know you were in journalism before you pursued MFA in New York.

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[QL: Right.] How did you decide on journalism as a major? Did it—did your interest, like, develop in high school, or is it just like an interest you developed in college and decide to major in journalism? So, I–I

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studied journalism in my undergrad in Wuhan University in China. And it was in high school, like, you know, like the—at the college entrance exam, like afterwards, I need to decide what majors I want to study.

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And it was not very clear to me. So at first, I actually wanted to study advertising. And because they put advertising and journalism under the School of Communication, so all the students would like take all

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introduction classes. And then, in the second year, we decide what kind of majors you want to study. So I actually went to the School of Communication thinking that, oh, I want to study advertising because, I don't know,

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I didn't actually know much about advertising. I just, you know, like watch Hong Kong television and think that it's really cool, like, it's a fun job. But when I actually, like, study, like, for the first year and then the—the

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professors, like teaching [advertising], they're super boring. Like they have—because they don't–they don't really work in journalism. So they just, like, tell you, like, theories, how it works. And then the–the professors who taught journalism

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are way more interesting. You know, they're talking about not just theories, but also like history and critical thinking and everything. So I, yeah, I guess the first year I just like,

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got attracted by teachers and journalism and, yeah, and decided to study journalism. Is there like a specific professor that inspired you to go to journalism? Can you, like, recall any specific moments?

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For journalism, I would say, as I mentioned, like the first year, like we would do all kind of introduction classes. And the–the dean of journalism at the time.

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Her name is Xia Qiong. And, so she like, taught us the introduction to–to journalism class, I think. And then she just, like, said that, you know, like, don't—she basically said, don't spend too much time in school of

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journalism and asked us to, like, go to audit like other classes, like philosophy and history and politics in the university. Yeah, so I feel like she's very direct and honest

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to students and, yeah. And did you participate in any like, clubs or organizations during your undergrad? Mmm... There were a

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few, and there was one like reading club thing that I joined. It's not like strictly like a reading club, but more it's like—I don't think it's like a registered group in the university,

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you know. It's like a–a very, like informal and casual group of people who sometimes want to, like, organize events. To, like, watch a movie, an old one that's not in the theater or, like, invite people

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to come to give a speech. And sometimes you would like, have, like dinner together and just talk about things. Yeah, I feel like it's the way for me at the time to know other people—like

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in other majors, it's like–like people can come from, like, all different kinds of backgrounds. There are like, maybe ten of us or something. People come and go, but it was like a window to

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get to know these people with similar mindset, like liberal, like into culture and arts. Yeah. And use VPN, like to know what's going on, in the news and history, like that kind of thing.

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Okay. And does your exchange experience at Nanyang Technological University kind of like change your educational goal or like, career goal? I would say I always wanted to, like, study

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abroad. And then, at the time, there was the exchange program available. Like I can do—it's either Hong Kong or Singapore. The exchange program is for one semester—I actually wanted,

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I wanted to go to Hong Kong, but that year they only have, the–the program in Singapore. I was like, okay, yeah, sure. Singapore, it's fine. And my experience there was–it

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was–it was pretty good in general. And, I think it's like the first time that I really, well, studied in an environment that's like, taught in English. And then, the—I feel like

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it's, like, almost it feels like a real education for the first time. Because I, like, in the–the university that I study in China, it was, you know, like—it's a pretty good university. It's like one of the top ten universities.

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But I feel like the administration system is a mess. And, like some of the classes are really, like, not well-organized, you know, like you can feel that the teachers didn't put much time into it and.

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Yeah, but I, the–the–the classes that I took in–in Singapore, it's like, you have like smaller groups of students, like 20 something students in the class. So you can have real discussion with other people and the teacher.

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And the quality of teaching is like so much higher. Yeah. So I guess that was like the–the moment that convinced me that, okay, I should do, like, another degree abroad to study. Yeah.

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Why did you pick Parsons in particular? Is there any, like, part that maybe interests you the most? So at the time, like, I already worked as a journalist for five years. And then I know that it's not going

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to be something that I can do forever, because the political climate is, like, changing a lot in–in China, and was like getting more and more difficult to interview people, go on reporting trips and write articles. So I know that, okay, I need to pick something else to do in my

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life. And I didn't know what it was at the time. I only know that, okay, I–I like to draw. I like to make things with my hands. So I want to, like, look for something that I can,

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like, keep making, like, make something. And then I did some research and talked to people and realized that, oh, this is like a–a textile major that exists. I didn't even know that it was a thing.

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Textile. And I spent a year taking online classes from a teacher and preparing portfolio and then researching schools. I actually applied, like most of the schools in Europe.

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But they didn't accept me because, I feel like in Europe in general, they have a stricter requirements. Like what–what, you should have done this and that, how many credits and undergrads.

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And I feel like in the United States, it's maybe more open, especially the Parsons MFA textile program, because it was a relatively new program. It was founded in 2018.

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And the–the–the philosophy of this program was like, oh, we're going to welcome students from all different kinds of backgrounds and put them together and see what's going to happen. So I was like, very happy that they took me in the end,

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accepted me to, like—so the first year, it would be like study all the, like, introduction classes. To learn to weave, to knit, to do natural dyeing, to do 3D printing, like these kind of things.

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So it was very—this program actually fits me like, well, like for someone like me not coming from a textile or fashion background. Yeah. Okay. And did you, when you were taking, like,

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textile classes, did you see enough Asian representation in the classes? Oh yeah, there was like a lot of Asian in–in my class. I would say, so they're, like, around 25 people in my

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year, my–my cohort. And then, maybe 5 or 6 am-among them are Chinese, and then, also like a third students were Indian. And then the, like, United States and the rest

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of the world. So, yeah, it's a–it's like almost like half of the students are Asian in my class, I would say. Yeah. Okay. Is there any, like, professors or

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mentors that left an impact on you during your time in Parsons? I learned from a lot of professors in the program.

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Like, they–they taught me how to, really, like to begin to do everything. How to do hand spinning, how to set up a loom and everything. The teacher that left the most impression, hm.

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I would say maybe it was during the Atelier program. So it's actually not like a faculty at Parsons. So we have these class or program called Atelier.

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It's basically like an internship that we would go to either a company or an artist studio one day a week to work there, to learn there. And then I was like, working with a textile artist. And her name is Samantha Bittman.

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She's a weaver. She has a weaving school in Catskill, in upstate New York, and also like a studio in Brooklyn. Yeah, so I would like—she would, like, teach me how to weave. And then we would, like, weave teaching samples for

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other textile students who would come to, like, learn weaving in her–in her studio. And I think it was some really nice experience because I can spend a lot of time observing how a professional

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artists work and live. And then she's a very nice person. Like she would give me advice, like how to–how to do, like how to make it work as a—as a

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textile person, as an artist. So I think like that was, yeah, one of the–the marks that I was really grateful for to–to have in school.

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Okay. Thank you. And I know you–you said you were looking for something new when you were, like, choosing the MFA program. Are you also being like—you're a journalist for a really long time. So did you look at the MFA, like textile

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program as, like, a temporary gateway, or are you looking for like a something like a new, like a permanent change? Yeah, I was more looking for a permanent change. Because I feel like, when I was doing journalism,

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I don't–I don't feel that's something that I want to do forever. And I feel like-like people, like, do–do journalism for different reasons. And some people, like, it's a way to interact with the

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society, you like to travel and talk to people. And some people did journalism because they want to be a writer. So it's like completely different purpose. And I feel like for me, it was more the, like the first one because

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as someone just got out of school, I wanted to know what's happening. And then to be a journalist was really like a very efficient way to be out there and–and know what's happening. And, be on site and–and talk to

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people. And it was–it's experience that like, forced me to grow, like quickly. But it's not something that I–I feel like I want to do forever.

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Especially when I feel like the first few years when I started as a journalist, it was still possible to cover a lot of stories and to travel. And I basically witnessed the rapid decline of

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the freedom of speech. And there was like fewer and fewer things. And then interviewees are under stress, like if they—especially like the last job I had was in New York Times

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Shanghai bureau. So it was, sometimes the interviewees are under pressure, like–like, you know, should I use my name? And, what's going to happen if I talk to foreign media? And I totally understand their concern.

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And sometimes if they say too much, I would be like, a-are you sure? That, is it okay? So I feel like it was not–it was not like in a normal society. Like, that's not how journalism should work.

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And I feel like this situation's are going to last for a long time. So just for my own, like, mental health and career development, I feel like, okay, I need to do—I need to do something else. Yeah. And, yeah, it—was that the

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question? Sorry. I kind of like [KG: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.] got lost there. And thank you so much for the details. And [QL: Yeah, no problem.] you also described taking,

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like, the subway in China to work as an animal without a skin. Like, could you elaborate on that a bit? What was the question? Sorry. So you described, like, taking the subway in China to work

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as, like [QL: Yes.] an animal without a skin. Could you elaborate on this a bit? Like how is it different from, like, taking subway in New York? Oh, did I–did I say that?

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Or, it was [inaudible]. It was like–it was from an interview. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I remember, yeah. I feel like that was my

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mental situation. Maybe the last few years when I was in Shanghai, it was—I mean Shanghai was like an okay city. I would say, you know, if you're just,

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like, having a life there, like, they have good restaurants and the streets are pretty, a lot of coffee shops. So if you want to have a, like–like a nice life, it's, in theory, it's possible.

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But I guess it's partly because I was doing journalism, so I was more exposed to the, like, negative sides of the society. And also I'm just, like, more sensitive to these kind of things. So there was like a, kind of frustration

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and anger that I carry with me all the time when I was in Shanghai. And yeah, I would describe my feeling as when I was like walking in the street in Shanghai, that I was ready to fight. Like if a stranger came up to me and, you know,

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like, provoked something, that I'm ready, like, what do you want to say to me? So, and I-I noticed, like, my mindset was like that, it wasn't very healthy.

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It was like, okay, I need to–I need to move somewhere else. Like, otherwise I can't live like that. Okay. Thank you. And, what would you say is the biggest difference from,

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like, telling a story from, like, texts and telling a story from, like, textile? I feel like when I was doing journalism, like telling the stories with words,

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it's other people's story, because that's how the format works, right? You have an idea, and then you travel somewhere, you talk to people, and you write an article. So of course, there's like some personal thing there because you pick the

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theme, the story based on your interests. Well, also because of the editors. But I feel like most of the time, it's still about what you care, what you feel strongly about.

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And then you would do that kind of stories that speak to you. But it's still like other people's story. And I feel like in–in textile, in arts that it's more direct. It's like, what–what I want to do,

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what I want to say, what materials I want to use. So it's not about other people anymore. Now it's like, I need to dig into my–my past, like my own stories and to–to tell the

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story in textile. So it's, I'm still doing the transition, and I feel like I'm very fortunate to have the opportunity to do it, to be able to–to do it. Yeah.

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Okay. And, I know in your video, you talked about how weaving can help you to release anger. And can you also elaborate on that a bit more? And do you also see art as a way of like embracing happiness?

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Yeah, the releasing anger thing, I think it was, it come from my experience, like working as a journalist and living in China for years. There was a lot of frustration there and things that I

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couldn't, like, release through–through my work at the time. So it was like building up, building up, keep building up for so many years. And then finally, I think when I was in,

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at the master program that I learned these techniques to–to-to-to draw, like with line, with yarn, and to weave images out. So I feel like I was given the tools little-by-little

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to–to-to take these anger out, like these feelings out of me. So I can, like, leave it on the loom and, like to–to think of stories that

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I wanted to tell that I feel very strongly about, but I didn't have the chance to do so. Yeah. I feel like it's—especially like weaving. I really like it a lot.

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Like, it's—I feel like on the one side, I was fascinated with the loom and weaving because it's a very old craft. So there's a lot of, like, history and culture behind, that it's a—the loom, it's a

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machine that you can find in so many different cultures. Primitive cultures, and it just all developed across the world. So it was like, I think it's a human instinct thing to–to make cloth just intersecting the warp and

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weft. It's very natural for a person to think of that and to think of the way to build cloth. So that part is like, already like very fascinating. I like to read books about like, old looms and how it works

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and, in that part of the world. And it's also has become like a contemporary art medium, which is relatively new. So there was this fiber movement in the United States in the–in the 60s that,

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you know, because like weaving and textile used to be seen as a woman's work, you know, in the household, not important at all. And then in the 60s, it started to seen as, oh, we can actually use textile, use weaving to make artwork.

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So it opens up all the possibilities. And so I feel I can also like–like relate to that period, that it's not just women's work anymore. Like, it's not just something

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you have, like a hobby at–at-at home anymore. That you can use this tool to say what you want to say, like as an artist. Does your weaving mindset have anything to do with,

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like, the Chinese tradition of weaving? Oh, the Chinese tradition—I've never woven in China. I think the–the loom may look a bit different. The—I've seen like, the loom in Qiandongnan.

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So in Guizhou, it's like a–like a much older version, like very big. And, it's not like the–the looms at home that I would see in United States, you know, it's like manufactured by these brands. So it's more like–like a modern design.

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So it's more compact. So you can fit it in your house or apartment. Yeah. And, so yeah, I would like to–to visit places in China where people weave, get to weave on the loom or backstrap weaving.

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Because I feel like that part is still like missing. Yeah. I-I learned weaving in–in-in the United States, so I feel like I'm more familiar with the–the setup, like the tools, like the way the yarn that people use here.

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On your website, I think you also mentioned how you use like these papers, hand-spun paper and, natural dyes to your artworks, like, why did you choose these materials specifically?

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Yeah, so the paper part, it was some—so when I, in the first year in my master's program, I was like trying all different kinds of weird materials. So I was like, looking for some kind of material that can provide support

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to weaving. Because usually like weaving is flat. And then I was like thinking, can I do something with it? So I've tried like all kinds of materials, like elastic yarn, like wood structure, metal.

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And in the end, paper worked for me because it's a—it's not that—it's not as, like, hard as metal. So you can still, like, mold it and bend it and has very subtle structure.

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And then the first big piece I made with the hand-spun paper yarn was that, I spun like calligraphy paper and newspaper and print paper, and then I wove, like a, a big piece. It's like kind of around three yards long.

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And then I folded it in, like, an origami way. And so the experiment was like to see if I can, like, weave a big piece of paper and fold it like a big piece of paper, and to see if the shape would stay.

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And then, it was—the only way to find out was to do it. But it was like a lot of work to do, the spinning and weaving and everything. I was very, like, stressed at the time, like, I hope it's going to work.

00:33:12.710 - 00:33:28.670

And then in the end, yeah, it worked. So I feel like, wow, this–this material is really magical and I can do so many different things with it. I can paint on it, I can dye it, I can spin it and, like, add little, like, pieces while I'm spinning.

00:33:28.970 - 00:33:43.580

So I feel like it's a material with a lot of possibilities that I'm still like discovering, like how to, how to play with it. Yeah. My cat is—my cat is with me the whole time, in my lap.

00:33:44.270 - 00:33:54.640

Hi. Hello! So cute. Say hi! Okay, he's biting my fingernails. [KG: Hi! How are you?] Okay, you want to stay?

00:33:55.840 - 00:34:09.640

Okay, stay. All right. Okay. So, let's going to talk about your experience in Houston. [QL: Okay.] How did you hear about Houston Center for Contemporary Art?

00:34:11.380 - 00:34:28.960

Yeah. So it's a pretty well known residency in the field of craft and art. And then I know a few people that I follow on Instagram that they did the residency a while back, a few years ago. And it seems they like, you know, had a pretty good experience.

00:34:28.960 - 00:34:44.060

And so I applied like spring last year and passed in review and yeah, decided to go in to do a three month residency in the fall...

00:34:44.060 - 00:35:03.300

Oh, can you hear me? Is that okay? Okay. Yes, I'm so sorry. My Zoom got—okay, I think it's good now. I'm sorry. Can you like, talk—can you elaborate on your

00:35:03.300 - 00:35:12.570

experience at Houston? Like, what did you do? And what are you studying and what–what materials did you like-like, play with?

00:35:16.230 - 00:35:34.740

Yeah, so when I arrived in Houston for the residency, there were four artists, like each cohort. And then each of us were given a studio space at the craft center. So we would have, like, around 20m²,

00:35:34.740 - 00:35:43.410

I don't know, what is it in feet? Square feet? Studio, like white walls. Like concrete wall with a sink. And it was, like, completely empty.

00:35:43.440 - 00:35:59.020

So it's like fresh start, whatever you want to do there. And then, so I had a eight shaft loom and a spinning wheel there. Thanks a lot to the help of the local Handweavers Guild.

00:35:59.290 - 00:36:11.850

Because I was, like, concerned, like, as a weaver, that it's a bit hard to travel with all the equipment. And then I talked to a former resident artist. Her name is Margot Becker.

00:36:11.850 - 00:36:25.750

She's also a weaver, and she did a residency there, and she told me that, yeah, you should be in touch with the Handweavers Guild. Because they have a guild house and then very nice people. And then they could probably, like, lend you the equipment.

00:36:25.780 - 00:36:42.310

Yeah. So, yeah, so I met these, like, very nice ladies at the guild and then got the equipment, got set up. And, yeah, started to experiment in—both in hand spinning and weaving.

00:36:42.820 - 00:37:01.140

And I think the–the–the fact that I have like a nice spinning wheel that it helped a lot, because the equipment matters in a way that when I was in school, the spinning wheel was a Louet Brand. It's like a Dutch brand, that it's a wheel that would pull very

00:37:01.140 - 00:37:18.600

hard. So I can like, spin fast, but it doesn't really work well for the yarn that I work with. It's like papers, it's really fragile. But so I, like I can only, like, spin, like pretty thick ones on that loom—on that wheel. And then the spinning wheel that I use in

00:37:18.600 - 00:37:30.060

Houston, it's a Lendrum brand. Scotch tension, so it's like a different system that I can spin, like very delicate yarn on this wheel. I can do it in like a slower way.

00:37:30.360 - 00:37:46.400

And then it also, like the–the–the wheel was built like with an angle, so I can like see what's happening on the bottom more clearly. So it gives me more like, a better view to see because I'm spinning like, not in a very traditional way.

00:37:46.400 - 00:38:01.820

And then the yarn is thick, thicker. I need to pay attention to what's happening in there so the yarn won't get stuck. Yeah. So I–I made a lot of, like, paper yarn samples with different paper thickness, ways of

00:38:01.820 - 00:38:21.530

spinning. Yeah. I had a good time to–to have the time and space to–to work and make yarn samples and make weaving samples. And to concentrate, because I feel like it's always hard

00:38:21.530 - 00:38:38.390

to continue to make as a professional artist because there's like a lot happening in life and you know, like, after graduation, like my other friends in school, like they get a job. So it's like a different lifestyle.

00:38:38.420 - 00:38:54.060

Like it's hard to, like, keep making your work while you have a job. And so I feel like it was—I was very lucky to have the time to have the studio and just to concentrate on, like, making refinements.

00:38:54.690 - 00:39:11.040

Yeah. Thank you. And how is it different from, like, your experience as an artist in New York? Well, I feel like in New York I don't have that much

00:39:11.070 - 00:39:24.510

experience yet because I just graduated, like, last summer, so I'm still trying to make it work. I'm, like, applying for other residencies in the city, and hopefully something will work out.

00:39:24.510 - 00:39:39.420

If not, I'm going to, like, find a studio myself. One thing I would say that the—Houston has a lot of space, and I can tell from the size of work that people make.

00:39:39.900 - 00:39:54.320

It's—I–I–I remember like at the–at the craft center, they have a show and there was like an artist who made these, like, giant sculptures. What is it like, cost—like things that you would wear in an amusement park,

00:39:54.350 - 00:40:07.370

like that kind of costume? It was huge. And I'm kind of like, where are you going to store it? So I feel like I have these, like, people living in New York mindset that, you know, like, I feel like in the past I used to make like a little bit of,

00:40:07.460 - 00:40:19.820

like basket weaving, basketry, like that kind of 3D sculptures. And then I realized I have no space to store these kind of things. So I decided, okay, I need to do tapestries. It's only like, you know, 2D.

00:40:19.850 - 00:40:34.580

I can just roll it up. Yeah. I feel like the–the sense of space is quite different. Like comparing Houston and New York City. And Houston, when I walk in the street, it's very open.

00:40:34.670 - 00:40:51.130

Like a lot of green. And a lot of cars. Big space. And I feel like my—I visited some, like, art spaces, artist studios in Houston.

00:40:51.160 - 00:41:05.410

And that's my feeling that, oh, it's not–it's so much easier and cheaper to keep a studio running, like as an artist. I feel like, yeah, it's much harder to do it in New York City, where everything is much expensive.

00:41:08.020 - 00:41:23.560

Okay. Thank you. And looking ahead, what are your aspirations as a textile artist, and are there like any specific themes or projects that you're eager to like, create or explore in the future?

00:41:25.660 - 00:41:41.450

The future plans? [laughs] Yeah. I'm working on a–a new series, like working with, actually dyed paper and tapestries. And I feel like it's what I—it's based on the samples,

00:41:41.450 - 00:41:56.930

experiments that I made in Houston that I'm going to, like, make it bigger and more elaborate. So this is the, what I'm working on right now. And longer in the future, I would say

00:41:56.930 - 00:42:14.630

that, I'm still figuring it out. [laughs] I'm not sure what's going to happen in a year or so. Like, yeah, like many things are still unclear to me, but one thing that I know for sure, because of my experience in

00:42:14.630 - 00:42:30.470

Houston that I know that I love making in the studio, I love working in the studio. So I'm going to make it work. I'm going to try to–to keep a practice

00:42:30.500 - 00:42:45.760

in the studio and keep making. Yeah. I remember visiting a studio, artist studio in Mother–Mother Dog. I don't know if you know this space. It's like a–an artist space

00:42:45.760 - 00:42:58.930

in–in Houston. And then I think in the past, it used to be like a factory or something. So it's like it was perfect to turn into, like, maybe around 20, like, rooms for artists.

00:42:58.930 - 00:43:15.130

And then, there was an artist that she would make, like, drawings and then mosaics, and glass. And she's been working, like, for 20 something years. Her name is Liz.

00:43:15.130 - 00:43:29.710

And I was like, asking her, how did you–how did you make it work? Like, basically, how did you do it? Because I'm very curious. Like how–how can you work as a professional artist? And she told me that she used to have a full-time job at an advertising

00:43:29.710 - 00:43:46.140

company in Houston, and then she would, like, go back to work in a studio during lunch breaks and after work. I was like, wow, like, you have so much energy. And the advice that she gave me was trying to find

00:43:46.140 - 00:43:59.940

the highest paying job that you don't care and keep making. So I feel like, okay, that's one way to go. And I definitely want to keep making. And I will see how the first part would work out for me.

00:44:02.430 - 00:44:17.820

Thank you so much, and. [QL: Yeah, no problem.] To move on a bit, can you tell us a little bit more about your family? Oh, any specific questions, or?

00:44:17.820 - 00:44:36.370

Like, how did you meet your spouse? Ah, okay. My partner, we met in Shanghai. We used to work together in a news website in Shanghai. And, he's still a news editor, and he–he's Dutch

00:44:36.370 - 00:44:53.560

and speaks like very good Chinese. Yeah, so we now live together in New York with our cat. So, did he like move to the US with you? Yeah. We decided to–to move together.

00:44:55.210 - 00:45:12.550

And also, New York is a place to do journalism as well. And where is your sibling? Is–is he still in China or, like, working elsewhere? Yeah. My younger sister, she's still in Guangdong province.

00:45:12.550 - 00:45:28.120

So in my–in my hometown, she works there. Right. It's nice to have her in–in Zhongshan. So, like, you know, like, she would like, take my parents for dim sum during the weekends.

00:45:28.120 - 00:45:45.150

And I feel like because I'm the one who's far away, so I couldn't–couldn't do that. So I feel like she's doing most of the family responsibility parts. And how do you envision your own role within your family as

00:45:45.150 - 00:46:04.230

you move forward in life? My role in my family. Do you mean, like, relationship with my parents or, more—? Maybe just like–like, how do you see your role in your family right

00:46:04.230 - 00:46:19.800

now and would it change in the future? Or would it stay the same? You mean like my family as me and my partner, or more like me and my parents?

00:46:19.830 - 00:46:32.150

More like your parents. And... Mmm. I feel like with my parents that I'm always away.

00:46:32.300 - 00:46:46.460

Because I went to boarding school when I was 13 years old, starting from middle school. So I feel like, you know, I've been away from home for many, many years. Like most of my lifetime, I was away from home.

00:46:46.460 - 00:46:58.580

And when I was in boarding school, I only, like, went back home once every two or even three weeks. It was kind of crazy at the time. So much time. Like even weekends, we need to like,

00:46:58.610 - 00:47:17.000

work and study. Yeah, so I feel like with my parents that... I'm-I'm always away and they're okay with it. They don't really understand what I'm doing in general [laughs] but when I told them

00:47:17.000 - 00:47:32.460

that I want to do a master's degree in textile, they were like, you know, they had no idea what it is. They have no idea what textile is, what art is. But they still supported me because they think,

00:47:32.490 - 00:47:50.110

oh, it's always a good thing to get a degree, you know, to study. So I feel like my relationship with my parents is like that. They don't really understand what I'm–what I'm doing, but they still support me, and,

00:47:50.110 - 00:48:10.410

yeah. And I'm grateful that that's the case. And when and where do you feel most at home? Strangely, I think it's New York. Like so far. I feel like when—even though

00:48:10.410 - 00:48:29.510

I spent most of my time in China, when, say, when I'm in Guangdong with my parents, I feel very, like, restricted. Because—first of all, I-I don't drive. And then when I'm at home, that it always need to,

00:48:29.510 - 00:48:44.540

if I want to go somewhere, then I kind of like always travel with someone, like a family member. And then it's not easy to, like, go to places. And then there are not so many interesting places I want to go when I'm at home

00:48:44.540 - 00:49:02.870

anyway. So I, even though like my hometown is my hometown, but I don't–I don't–I don't see myself kind of live there for a long time. And it's not the most comfortable environment for me. And, in Shanghai, I

00:49:02.870 - 00:49:15.430

worked there for five years. Like, I feel like I know this city, like, okay. But I don't feel very welcome there. As a person without a Shanghai hukou.

00:49:15.430 - 00:49:33.730

Yeah. So I feel like I'm still looking for a place that I can, I can stay longer and–and so far, I–I like–I like New York. I'm not sure if I'm going to stay here forever or if I could.

00:49:34.030 - 00:49:48.940

But yeah, this is a place where I feel most comfortable with. Yeah. How do you identify yourself ethnically? You mean, it's, just Chinese?

00:49:49.720 - 00:50:02.260

Yes? [KG: Yeah.] I'm Chinese. Okay. What you feel most proud of? What I feel most proud of?

00:50:02.380 - 00:50:22.140

That I–I made a decision to–to leave, I guess, to–to move to New York. Yeah. Because I feel like many, many people had the same idea that they're not happy

00:50:22.140 - 00:50:36.300

with what's happening. Maybe back in China, like when people want to run. [laughs] But it's, of course, it's not easy to do it. Especially if you already have a successful career and your family and your

00:50:36.300 - 00:50:51.500

life back there. I feel like at the time, I had nothing to lose anyway, so, my career is not going anywhere in journalism. And, you know, I don't have kids. Or, like, I can still move around and.

00:50:51.500 - 00:51:04.230

But yeah, I think I–I make the decision that I wanna–I wanna do textile. I want to make it work and spend a year or two on it. And it worked out for me.

00:51:04.230 - 00:51:23.080

So I'm very–I'm very proud of myself for–for that part. Yeah. And do you consider yourself like a Chinese or Asian artist as opposed to an international artist? I could be both, right?

00:51:23.230 - 00:51:37.570

Yeah. Okay, is it like a distinction? Like a different category or something? No, it's just like–like, how do you identify yourself? It's more like an identity question.

00:51:38.200 - 00:51:53.380

Oh, okay. I think I would say definitely, you know, like, still Chinese artist. Even though I feel like I wouldn't label myself too much as a Chinese artist.

00:51:53.380 - 00:52:10.330

And I would almost avoid using some, you know, like Chinese traditional elements in my work. Because, I don't know, like, first of all, I don't feel like very, like that closely connected to traditional

00:52:10.330 - 00:52:25.710

culture. Even though, like, I grew up in China and like, there's a lot of, like, folk religion, like arts in my household going on. But I feel like in art-making that

00:52:26.670 - 00:52:44.130

it's almost a bit too trendy to use, like, the Chinese traditional elements. So I feel like I would like, try to, at least for now, to use a more universal language, like human figures and stories that everyone

00:52:44.130 - 00:53:00.340

could understand. Yeah. Okay. And, so in a—I think in a documentary produced by Wai Nao (WhyNot) you described yourself as like a fortune cookie. I think I also saw your IG story about the fortune.

00:53:00.340 - 00:53:20.120

[QL: Mm.] And can you elaborate on this a bit more? Yeah, the fortune cookies thing. It was because I took an elective at school to learn ceramics. And then, yeah, it was just—I think it was just like, I was watching

00:53:20.480 - 00:53:38.000

videos on YouTube, like how to make fortune cookies at home. [laughs] I forgot why I was doing that, and it was quite easy to do it. You know, if you have a muffin tin, you have the dough, you can just easily, like fold it together and put it

00:53:38.000 - 00:53:50.420

on top of a mug to fold it. And it was like, okay, I-I think I can do it with clay, because to me, the material is kind of similar. It's like making–making dumplings.

00:53:50.780 - 00:54:05.270

And so that's how it–it started, like making these like big, bigger and smaller fortune cookies and fire them in the kiln. And, I guess I was like

00:54:05.270 - 00:54:20.940

intrigued by the idea because as a new immigrant, like, everything like that's Chinese American, it's very interesting to me. Like Chinatown is like Chinese bakeries, Cantonese bakeries,

00:54:20.970 - 00:54:33.780

Cantonese restaurants. It's like a, even though I-I speak Cantonese. But it's–it's like a sp—a place that I'm not familiar with, you know, because Shanghai was not like that.

00:54:33.810 - 00:54:48.180

Guangdong was not like that. So it's like a very special space and culture that only exists in Chinese American communities here. So, like fortune cookies, it's the thing that doesn't exist in Chinese

00:54:48.180 - 00:55:07.050

restaurants back-back in China, but it's something special that, started from here. So I guess, like, yeah, I'm like, as a new immigrant, I'm like, oh, what is—how'd this happen? And, yeah, I'm trying to see how

00:55:07.050 - 00:55:24.920

it's possible to grow independently. Like my roots are from China, but how can I live after I uprooted myself from the original environment and still have a

00:55:24.920 - 00:55:38.810

life and flourish here? Yeah, I think it's a metaphor. Thank you. And what do you think is a way for Asian textile artists to have bigger impacts?

00:55:42.830 - 00:55:57.440

The question is like how–how can Asian American artists have better—a bigger impact? It's like, is there any way for Asian textile artists or Chinese textile artists to have a bigger impact,

00:55:57.470 - 00:56:14.320

whether it's like on social media or like, just like people to see the—like their works? Right. I think textile art in general is on the rise. For many years. Like,

00:56:14.320 - 00:56:28.720

'cause in the, in the 60s, when there was this fiber movement, textile art was very new. It was very marginalized. And I feel like, until recent years that people would see more contemporary

00:56:28.750 - 00:56:43.900

artwork made by textile artists. And, because it's tactile, it's like, very like interesting texture and colors. You can make sculptures, you can make wearable arts,

00:56:43.960 - 00:57:02.980

you can make clothes. I think it's getting more attention in general. And for Asian textile artists, I think that's because it's a long, like strong textile culture and history in Asia, like in Japan, in China and Southeast Asia,

00:57:02.980 - 00:57:20.780

in India. So I think, like, we have some advantages in a way that there are so many things that we can–we can borrow from our own culture and history. Yeah. So I think it's a—this is like a strong group,

00:57:20.780 - 00:57:35.750

I would say, like, Asian American textile artists. On the rise. Yeah. Okay. And what advice would you give to an Asian who is new to the field of textile art?

00:57:38.090 - 00:57:50.360

I feel like I'm not–I'm not in a position to give advice yet. [laughs] Myself is still like asking advice from other people. I'm still like, trying to see how it's going to work out for me. Yeah.

00:57:52.040 - 00:58:03.440

Okay. Thank you. And is there anything you would like to share that we haven't covered yet? I think we covered most of it, yeah.